Chad Tomko. Click image for box score.

WILMINGTON, N.C. – Sophomore guard Chad Tomko scored all 15 of his points in the second half and junior forward Daniel Mercer came off the bench to contribute a career-high 10 points as UNC Wilmington edged Delaware, 75-72, in a see-saw Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball game Saturday night at Trask Coliseum.

         The Seahawks snapped a 10-game losing streak with their first CAA victory of the season and now stand 4-13 overall and 1-4 in the loop. The Blue Hens suffered their third straight loss to fall to 7-10 and 1-4.

         Tomko, a 5-10 waterbug from Charlotte, N.C., missed all four of his field goal attempts in the first half before heating up after the break, connecting on 6-for-9 in the final period and dishing out a game-high five assists. Freshman guard Kevon Moore chipped in 13 points and freshman guard Jerel Stephenson matched Mercer’s 10 points to give the Seahawks four in double figures.

         All five Delaware starters reached double figures, led by junior guard Jawan Carter’s 19 points. Sophomore Alphonso Dawson added 15 points, senior forward Marc Egerson had 14, senior forward Jim Ledsome scored 12 and junior playmaker Brian Johnson chipped in 11.

         The Blue Hens grabbed a 42-34 lead at halftime before Carter’s 15 first-half points, but couldn’t hold on down the stretch as the Seahawks rallied from a 10-point deficit to win for the first time since downing N.C. Central back on Nov. 28 in South Padre Island, Texas.

         Tomko, held scoreless in the first half for the first time this season, heated up after the break, scoring seven points in the first four minutes of the final period to get things going for the Seahawks. After a jumper by Ledsome gave UD a 46-36 cushion, UNCW chipped away at the lead and finally went ahead, 54-53, on a free throw by Dominique Lacy with 11:49 left in the contest.

         But UD regained the lead and bumped the advantage back to five points, 66-61, on another jumper by Ledsome in the paint UNCW then took a 69-68 lead with 4:22 remaining when Towko’s 3-point attempt was tipped in by Lacy above the rim.

         Dawson answered with a tip-in of his own shot at 3:41 to give the Blue Hens a narrow 70-69 lead and a pair of free throws by Egerson with 2:15 showing extended the margin to 72-69.

          A steal and layup by Kevon Moore sliced the deficit to 72-71 at 1:15 before Carter, the CAA’s second leading scorer, was charged with an offensive foul with 58 seconds remaining, setting up a spinning jumper by Moore with 43 seconds left that put the Seahawks ahead, 73-72.

         With the clock winding down, the Blue Hens worked the ball in the half court and Carter was tied up by Tomko in the paint with 10 seconds left. UNCW then missed the front end of two bonus situations in the final 10 seconds, but gathered in the rebound on both occasions before a pair of free throws by Moore with one second left resulted in the final margin.

         Delaware jumped out to a 42-34 lead at intermission behind Carter’s 15 points and 53.8 percent shooting from the floor. Carter made 4-of-8 field goals and was perfect on six free throw attempts as the Blue Hens led by as many as 12 points in the opening period.

         The Seahawks travel to Harrisonburg, Va., on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. date against James Madison at the JMU Convocation Center. The Blue Hens, meanwhile, return to Newark to begin a two-game homestand Wednesday with a 7 p.m. matchup against CAA preseason favorite Northeastern at the Bob Carpenter Center.

         Game Notes: Delaware won the rebounding battle, 33-32…The Blue Hens committed 20 turnovers…Sophomore guard Chad Tomko and freshman guard Jerel Stephenson each had five assists…Each team went 4-for-17 from 3-point range…UNCW’s largest lead was the final outcome of three points…UNCW’s reserves outscored UD’s bench by a whopping 30-1 margin…Junior guard Johnny Wolf was hampered by an ankle sprain and played just 14 points…Junior forward Daniel Mercer played a career-high 17 minutes…The Seahawks drained 13-of-18 free throws for 72.2 percent at the charity stripe.

-Courtesy UNCW